The End of the Immortal Path

Chapter 16: Little Fatty: Xiao Jiang, don't be nervous, do your best on the exam!

Looking at Little Fatty's relaxed and somewhat smug expression.

Jiang Man could tell this was a display of confidence.

The sudden self-satisfaction, the inquiries before the assessment.

Undoubtedly revealed one thing - Little Fatty's cultivation had improved.

Originally at the first level of Qi Refinement, he had most likely reached the second level now.

While Jiang Man originally had no cultivation at all, even advancing one level would still be far behind Little Fatty.

He had researched this over the past few days.

The first level of Qi Refinement earned eight points, while the Qi Refinement Method, Blood Qi Method, and Visualization Method each earned one point per level advancement.

Theoretically, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

With the Qi Refinement Method, Blood Qi Method, and Visualization Method all reaching the ninth level, one could obtain ninety-nine points.In the Rear Courtyard, it was said that few could achieve such a high score of ninety-nine.

Now Little Fatty had at least sixteen points.

A jump of eight points in one go - no wonder he was confident.

Facing such a Little Fatty, Jiang Man simply smiled and said, "It has been quite tough."

"Don't worry, suffering now is actually good, since there will be endless suffering in the future anyway. Better to get used to it early." Little Fatty patted Jiang Man's shoulder and continued, "I'll walk slowly ahead, waiting for you to catch up."

Jiang Man ate his dry rations and nodded in appreciation.

Since Little Fatty was so rarely happy like this, he didn't want to spoil his mood.

Let him be happy for a few days.

Currently, he had already filled his third "gourd." Although the speed was fast, his body was truly having difficulty bearing it.

He couldn't even casually mobilize his body's strength.

Such rapid improvement sometimes brought more harm than good.

The cultivation system restricted his talent.

Otherwise, he would have reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement long ago.

Additionally, he had run out of Flawless Qi Gathering Pills, limiting his talent once more.

Fortunately, he had plenty of Spirit Source.

A total of one thousand two hundred thirty Spirit Source, plus tonight's labor at Luo Xuan's residence would bring it to one thousand three hundred Spirit Source.

Close to the normal labor earnings near the Cloud Front Division.

This was his current confidence - enough to purchase four Qi Gathering Pills.

Though the quality was rather ordinary.

"Little Jiang, work hard in the coming days. When the rankings come out, don't be too discouraged." Little Fatty kindly comforted him.

As he spoke, he even gave Jiang Man a piece of meat.

What a good person.

Jiang Man was quite moved, wondering if Little Fatty would still treat him this well in a few days.

Afterwards, Jiang Man continued practicing Divine Movement Steps.

Divine Movement Steps was the most fundamental among all spells, with six levels total.

Under the Spell Innate Qi.

One practice session to master the basics.

Two sessions to reach the second level.

Four sessions to reach the third level.

Soon he reached the peak sixth level.

Without the slightest pressure.

Fortunately, the assessment would begin tomorrow, otherwise he would have nothing left to practice.

The next day.

September fifteenth.

Assessment day.

Today's Azure Cloud Pavilion Rear Courtyard was quite solemn.

Since planning cultivation activities began last month, assessments were held every month.

It was also when many people verified their cultivation results.

It also let those behind understand the gap between them and the top two.

Some struggled to catch up, while others were content with their situation, accepting mediocrity.

Sometimes the path to immortality lay right before you, but you couldn't take even a single step forward.

For the vast majority, cultivation was far more difficult than imagined.

Today Luo Xuan and Cheng Yu went together to the Sixth Courtyard.

On the way, Cheng Yu asked curiously, "Luo Xuan, that Jiang Man earned so much Spirit Source from you - did it have any effect?"

"He cultivates very diligently, forcing me to cultivate along with him. From that perspective, there has been some effect." Luo Xuan thought for a moment before saying, "But compared to affecting Fang Yong, it's rather insignificant."

"It does seem to have some effect. I secretly observed that Fang Yong looks at Jiang Man differently, and he's more restless than usual. I think he's genuinely affected." Cheng Yu commented.

"If Jiang Man can show some improvement this time, that would be even better." Luo Xuan said calmly, "Unfortunately, his background is too poor and his talent is mediocre. Otherwise, I could grant him the honor of becoming my guard. To serve me."

"How could someone like him possibly deserve your high regard? If he knew, he'd probably be so happy he couldn't sleep." Cheng Yu said with curiosity, "During his several visits to cultivate at your place, did he have any improper thoughts?"

"Such matters aren't worth my attention. As long as he takes the Spirit Source and does his job properly without affecting me, he doesn't deserve further attention." Luo Xuan shook her head slightly.

"True. I heard he came from a small village, and the village has already abandoned him. No matter how hard he tries, he has no future prospects." Cheng Yu shrugged.

On the other side, as soon as Jiang Man stepped out of the stables, he saw Fang Yong.

The other party had a gloomy expression.

"Young Master Fang looking for me?" Jiang Man asked.

The other was at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, while he was at the third level.

The cultivation gap forced him to speak carefully.

If the other's emotions became unstable and he directly attacked.

Then he wouldn't be able to withstand the other's assault.

His peerless talent would suffer once again.

"You sought out Luo Xuan too - what's the difference between us?" Fang Yong said.

Jiang Man was confused.

"If you didn't seek her out, could you have improved?" Fang Yong added.

Jiang Man fell silent - that was true.

If he didn't work for her, he truly couldn't earn so much Spirit Source.

"Even if you've improved somewhat, what use is it? You still won't get the spot." Fang Yong's eyes held a trace of disdain as he said:

"Without a spot, you're nothing.

When the rankings come out in a couple days, you'd better not be last place, otherwise you'll still have to go clean the Old Courtyard."

After speaking, the other turned and left.

Jiang Man didn't understand why the other had said so much.

Probably to make himself feel better.

But as he approached the Sixth Courtyard, he saw Fang Yong standing before Young Master Cheng and several others.

Seemingly explaining something.

They just smiled, then patted Fang Yong's shoulder and walked away.

Jiang Man saw their mocking smiles and sighed inwardly.

He hoped these people wouldn't target him.

A short while later.

Jiang Man entered the Sixth Courtyard.

The Sixth Courtyard now had desks arranged, one for each person.

Positions were arranged according to rankings.

Jiang Man was naturally in the last row.

"Little Jiang, coming so late?" Little Fatty greeted with a smile.

Jiang Man returned the smile.

Little Fatty continued smiling, "Relax, although my score is at a height you can't reach, I'll always be waiting for you. Just keep trying hard next time."

Jiang Man looked at him seriously and said, "I will definitely work hard."

Hearing this, Little Fatty felt his vanity satisfied.

Then Zhao Leming entered.

Carrying some brushes and books.

As he entered and looked at the twenty-six people in the Sixth Courtyard, he felt somewhat surprised.

He sensed that many of them had made considerable progress during this period.

And the reason turned out to be the diligence of the last-ranked student.

Jiang Man's sudden awakening didn't surprise him.

People always have moments when they suddenly become enlightened.

Even fools were no exception.

Especially in the cultivation world, such things were quite common.

But that his awakening could drive everyone else to diligence was something he hadn't expected.

Additionally.

The animal husbandry method the other had provided was truly useful.

In just this short month, he had earned considerable Spirit Source, and his status had improved somewhat.

Making his future path smoother.

This made him feel that people should be kept under his watchful eye.

To prevent unwanted incidents from occurring.

At least for the next year, he needed to pay more attention.

Additionally, he needed to see how many points the other scored this time.

If it was still zero points, perhaps it really was just accidental gains.

If he reached ten points, then his previous speculation could be trusted by one percent.